No Cellphones! Chinese Walking Lane Separates Phone Addicts

No Cellphones! Chinese Walking Lane Separates Phone Addicts

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Distracted driving laws have sprung up around the world to cut down on drivers who text behind the wheel. That was not enough for one Chinese property manager with a sense of humor. Last week, pedestrians in the city of Chongqing discovered a designated cellphone lane to walk in while they played Candy Crush or talked on WeChat. "Cellphones, walk in this lane at your own risk," read the lettering on the ground. The lane next to it explicitly banned cellphones. It was not the work of overzealous government officials; instead they were painted by the property manager, who told the Associated Press they were ironic and were meant to remind people of the dangers of walking while fiddling with their phones. Similar lanes appeared in Washington, D.C., earlier this summer as part of the National Geographic TV show "Mind Over Masses." Could lanes like these usher in a new age of cellphone civility? Or will unruly teens simply take rebellious selfies in the "no cellphones" lane? The people of the world will watch their Twitter feeds to find out.

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Residents walk on a lane painted with instructions to separate those using their phones as they walk from others in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. AP